


Cake and Whiskey

by Reddwarfer



Category: Wild Adapter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-12-25
Updated: 2008-12-25
Packaged: 2018-01-25 04:19:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 753
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1631192
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Reddwarfer/pseuds/Reddwarfer
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kasai finds himself celebrating Christmas in the most unlikely of ways.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Cake and Whiskey

**Author's Note:**

> For my beloved Inksheddings. Thanks so much to the lovely Leanne for the beta.
> 
> Written for inksheddings

 

 

Not for the first time this evening, Kasai wishes he had something to drink. Preferably whiskey, neat, and something mindless on the television. He wonders what Takizawa, sitting next to him, too close for comfort, is thinking now as they awkwardly intrude-even if by invitation-on Makoto and Tokito's Christmas.

It's not the first Christmas that Tokito can remember, but it is the first one Tokito wants to acknowledge. As with most things that pique Tokito's curiosity, this idea came from the pages of some manga or another, followed by question after question after question until Tokito all but demands that they celebrate this year. Kasai tries to escape the room, but a glance at his nephew stops him. Tokito continues planning and Makoto smiles his acquiescence-as he always does-full of wistfulness, dark memories, and unadulterated fondness.

Tokito beams, seemingly never considering the notion that Makoto would ever deny him. If Tokito's beast-like hand is beyond comprehension, then Makoto not spoiling Tokito is a statistical impossibility, Kasai thinks.

Still, this doesn't explain why he and Takizawa are both sitting in the room, straining to not feel uncomfortable, especially when Makoto starts looking at Tokito like he is now. Even as sure as he is of himself, Kasai can't help but feel as if he-and everything else aside from the boy-ceases to exist for his nephew.

"Kubo-chan, hurry," Tokito says, unabashedly demanding. Makoto murmurs his assent and then glances back to the couch as if finally realizing that they're not alone. Little shit.

Makoto says nothing on how strange it is for a group of men-fully grown men-to get together on Christmas and decorate a tree.

Christmas is for lovers. A night for dating. A night for...things he doesn't want to imagine his nephew doing to the kid.

Kasai leans back on the couch and tries to smile at the unbridled excitement on Tokito's face as Makoto pushes the plug into the wall and tree is now lit up with hundreds of multicoloured lights.

"Better?" Makoto says, still smiling, and Tokito nods enthusiastically, eyes darting all over the tree, as if trying to burn the image onto his memory.

"This isn't so bad," Takizawa says, then, quietly. Kasai turns and sees a glint of happiness in his eyes. 

Kasai chuckles ruefully. "I feel like I'm a father supervising my kid's date."

"What does that make me? The mother?" There's a note of teasing in Takizawa's voice that sends a delicate shiver up Kasai's spine. That...well, he'll think about that later.

The sound of glass crunching snaps him out of the moment and he doesn't know whether to be grateful.

"Shit! Sorry, Kubo-chan!" Tokito says, both embarrassed and angry with himself. The remnants of a delicate bulb are in the palm of his right hand. 

"It doesn't matter," Makoto says with a soothing tone he uses on no one else. Gently, he picks the shards of glass from Tokito's hands and throws them away. Watching Makoto's relatively fragile hands touching and carefully taking care of Tokito's near indestructible one makes him feel as if he's intruding on a private moment that no one is meant to see. He looks away after a few moments and finds the same discomfort he feels on Takizawa's face.

With a subtle nod, Kasai gets up, walks toward the door, Takizawa following closely behind.

Neither his nephew nor the boy says a word to them as they leave. A brief look behind him tells him why - those same hands that so carefully cleaned Tokito's are now holding his face, leaning too close for conversation or anything else he would want to witness.

"Have plans?" he turns and asks Takizawa, not knowing if he wants the answer or not. There are things between them that he likes to think about less than the things between Makoto and Tokito. Though, he's not sure if that's true or what he thinks it should be.

Takizawa smiles at him-smirks, actually-and replies, "I have whiskey at my house. And cable. Christmas cake. And condoms, not that it's relevant."

He laughs. "I never turn down a free drink."

They walk away from his nephew's house, toward something he's not going to think about before-or after-it happens.

Takizawa will never look at him the way Makoto looks at the boy and neither will he. He doesn't know if it's because Takizawa is too heartless as a reporter or if he's too hardened as a cop, but he thinks it's better this way. He knows it is.

 


End file.
